National Chiropractic Health Month Starts October: Get Moving!

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
and chiropractors nationwide are promoting the benefits of movement to overall
health as well as the prevention of back pain during National Chiropractic
Health Month (NCHM) in October. This year’s theme, “Move 4 Life,” encourages
people to move more now so they will be able to move better later and avoid
chronic and painful conditions associated with sedentary lifestyles.

For information on the benefits of movement
and tips on how to stay active and prevent injury, visit www.acatoday.org/NCHM
and follow ACA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram--look for the hashtag
#Move4Life. (Those who would like to help promote NCHM can also find a campaign
toolkit with information and resources to share on social media and in their
communities.)

Research shows there is a worldwide pandemic
of increasing inactivity. In the U.S., only about half of all adults get the
recommended amount of physical activity, putting them at greater risk of
cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes as well as falls and low back pain.

“The bones, muscles and joints that make up
our body’s musculoskeletal system require regular movement to stay healthy and
function properly. As we age, we are more at risk of developing low back pain
and joint problems if we do not get enough physical activity,” said ACA
President N. Ray Tuck, Jr., DC. “With their non-drug approach, chiropractors
help people move better by relieving back and joint pain and improving joint
function.”

ACA offers additional information on how to
get and stay moving:

Good nutrition, ergonomic workspaces and
proper lifting and movement techniques can go a long way in helping people to
strengthen their spines and avoid disabling injuries and chronic back pain,
which often prevent regular physical activity.

Consider weight-bearing exercises, such as walking,
which help maintain bone density over a lifetime and keep our skeletal bones
healthy and strong.

When busy schedules are the obstacle, a
re-examination of personal priorities is sometimes necessary to restore balance
in life; make time for healthy habits such as physical activity.

Back pain is one of the most common conditions
for which prescription opioids are prescribed. It was once believed that pain
medication and bed rest were the best course of action for low back pain, but
research today supports first trying non-drug options for pain management, while
remaining as active as possible, before moving on to other options.

Doctors of chiropractic practice a hands-on, drug-free approach to
health care and pain relief that includes patient examination, diagnosis and
treatment. In addition to their expertise in spinal manipulation, chiropractors
have broad diagnostic skills and are trained to recommend therapeutic and
rehabilitative exercises, and to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle
counseling. For more information, visit www.acatoday.org/patients.

Women: Want to Avoid Heart Failure? Try Walking

New research suggests that women who exercise regularly, including walking, may lower their risk for heart failure. The study from researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York looked at over 137,000 women aged 50-79, of which over one-third had high blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors such as smoking and diabetes. After a follow-up period of 14 years, researchers found that the women who got some form of physical activity were less likely to suffer from heart failure (11%). Women with the highest levels of physical activity, meanwhile, were the least likely to suffer from heart failure (35%), as compared to women who got no exercise at all. In addition, women who got the most physical activity were the least likely to develop a sub-type of heart failure called reduced ejection fraction (32%) as compared to women who never exercised. 33% of the same group of women were also the least likely to develop another sub-type of heart failure called a preserved ejection fraction. One of the biggest findings from the study, however, is that walking works just as well as other forms of exercise, including more vigorous types. To discover how much exercise the women got, researchers studied answers to a questionnaire about exercise that every participant completed. As it turns out, walking was the most common type of physical activity reported.